Gayle will be one of the ‘franchise players’ in the CPL
The inaugural Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which is scheduled to begin on July 29, is set to feature six franchises with 90 signed players in total.
Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard have all been confirmed as ‘franchise players’, meaning that they will represent one of the six sides.
The six teams are thought to be from Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
This information was announced by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), alongside with Verus International, the Barbados and USA-based company that is financing the tournament.
According to the WICB, their contract with Verus International will stand for a minimum of 20 years and the CPL is set to replace the Caribbean Twenty20.
WICB president Julian Hunte believes the financial gains the West Indies stand to make from the tournament are endless.
“The WICB is elated with the agreement, which will allow for regional retainer contracts for a broad pool of players,” he said. “These contracts will be funded by the CPL to the tune of US$360,000 annually. This significant investment will truly allow for cricketers in the Caribbean to pursue their profession as professionals.”
Each ‘franchise player’ will not necessarily represent the country they are used to playing for and Dirk Hall, who is the managing director of Verus International, explained that this was to ensure that there was a balance between all six franchises.
“The CPL has chosen the top six T20 players in the region based on their stats and performances in this format of the game,” Hall said. “Doing it this way ensures that each team is bolstered by a talented, top West Indian player, and that there is balance and fairness across the board on all six teams.”
The CPL will also on the prowl for six international ‘franchise players’, whereby each franchise will get one.
Every side in the tournament is allowed a total of 15 players, with a maximum of four overseas talents.
In terms of the local signings, at least six of the players in each franchise must play for the country the team is based in.
In the case of Saint Lucia, their local players will include those that represent the Windwards Islands and in the case of Antigua, the Leeward Islands.
The WICB also announced that each side must also have at least four players under the age of 23.
Besides the ‘franchise players’, the rest of the teams will be decided via a draft system, the details of which are still yet to be released.
The WICB noted that the tournament was scheduled during a period where it would not clash with the Indian Premier League (IPL), nor with any international or domestic commitments.
The tournament will feature 30 group stage matches, where each franchise will play the other five at home and away, after which there will be an eliminator and a final.
The WICB also stated that the 2014 edition of the CPL is scheduled to take place between July 5 and August 10, while in 2015 the dates are set at June 21 to July 26.